The Other Potter Child: Bonded by Blood
by Stormwolf Ninja
Summary: Her green eyes turned hazel. "Being in Gryffindor does mean something to me. It means that three fourths of the school enjoy the pranks that I pull on the Slytherins." "She really is James's child, isn't she?" WARNING: This is not a HPDM slash fic!
1. Prologue

Mkay, I suck at summaries, so this story probably sounds totally awful. It's my first one though. Please give me half a chance?

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"It's a boy!" James and Lily Potter beamed as their son was placed in Lily's arm.

"He has your eyes," James murmured, putting his hand on Lily's arm as their son blinked up at them. "What should we name him?"

"Harry," Lily replied, smiling tenderly as the baby's face broke into a toothless grin. She turned towards the doctor. "Doctor, I was told that I was going to have twins. Where is my other child?"

The doctor looked very apologetic. "I'm sorry, ma'am. You _did_ give birth to a daughter, but she died moments later. I'm very sorry."

Lily's eyes filled with tears. "It would've been nice to have a daughter."

James squeezed his wife's hand. He smiled, but his eyes were sad. "There was nothing we could do about that. We should be thankful for the healthy baby boy we do have."

Lily smiled. "I am." She hugged her son tightly as if he was going to suddenly vanish as well.

The doctor gave them a smile and left the room. He turned into the waiting room, where a woman was sitting. "Everything is prepared. Go."

The woman immediately got up and left the hospital as fast as she could without arousing suspicion. She headed for the nearest bus stop. In her arms she clutched a tiny bundle. Inside the bundle was a baby. A baby girl.

The woman felt the bundle stir and looked down. The baby began to fuss and she hushed it quickly. If they were caught- She didn't let herself finish that sentence.

While waiting for the bus, she stared moodily out into the street. Suddenly, the baby let out an ear-splitting shriek. The woman glanced down. A rat had climbed onto the bundle and was biting the baby's face. Horrified, the woman went to push the rat away, but there was a blast of green light from the baby, a rushing noise, and the rat fell dead. The woman's hand went to her mouth, muffling a gasp. It couldn't have been…

The bus finally arrived. The woman hurried up the steps, sat down, and began to tend to the baby's bleeding cheek, murmuring spells and reducing the bloody gash to a thin scar. The baby reached up and grabbed at the emerald necklace hanging around the woman's neck. A delighted grin spread across the baby's face as she played with the necklace. Her eyes were the same color as the gem. The woman smiled in spite of herself.

"What a sweet baby you have there." She looked up and saw an old woman beaming at the baby in her arms. The old woman came over, smiling at the baby. "What's your name, dearie?" she cooed, holding out a finger to the baby.

The woman hesitated for a moment. "Isra," she replied. "Her name is Isra." _It fits_, she thought. _It means "noctural journey," and she certainly is taking one. _

"That's an unusual name," the older woman said. "But it's pretty." She smiled. "Just like your mother," she added, talking to the baby.

"Thank you," the woman said automatically, feeling her face grow hot, though she didn't know why. She was thankful when the bus arrived at her stop. She got up and practically ran down the steps to escape this embarrassing situation. It took her a few moments to get her bearings and she hurried towards one house in particular. She knocked on the door three times, anxiously glancing over her shoulders every few seconds.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. She stepped inside quickly, closing it behind her and turning to face two people, a man and a woman. "Did you bring it?" the man asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes," the first woman replied.

"I don't see why you didn't just Apparate here," the man told her.

"He was afraid that it would arouse too much suspicion," she explained. "It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that my part of the job is over and it is your turn now." She handed him the bundle and took on a mock stern look. "Perseus and Lyra Black, I trust you will take good care of her."

Lyra, the other woman, nodded, smiling slightly. "We will keep her in our care until she is called for."

The first woman nodded. "Very well. I wish you the most luck." She smiled slightly. "I have a feeling she will be everything we expected. She killed a rat on our way here. With a blast of green light." The couple exchanged astonished looks as the words sank in. Feeling a strange lump rising in her throat, the woman opened the door to leave. Suddenly, she turned around. "By the way, her name is Isra. Isra Black."

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	2. Chapter 1

_Six years later_

Isra Black had long decided that she was different (weird was a better word), but one day, something happened that made it so evident, it couldn't be ignored.

It was in first grade and a new boy had come to school. There was something arresting about his appearance. It wasn't his sleek blond hair, it wasn't his cold grey eyes…it was something in his attitude. He just seemed to exude arrogance and his manner suggested that he'd turn anyone who tried to talk to him into a frog.

Isra didn't know if she was blessed or cursed when he ended up sitting next to her. She gave him a timid smile, but he just sneered slightly and turned his head.

"Jerk," she muttered. At that, he turned back, but she folded her arms and turned her head away.

Draco Malfoy raised his eyebrows. Interesting. He turned his head back to study the girl. First of all, she had attitude and plenty of it. She had long dark red hair and almond-shaped green eyes. There was a faint scar on her cheek that caught his interest, but she was a _Muggle_. He sneered just thinking about it. He was disgusted that he even had to go to this school, but his mom had insisted.

Unsurprisingly everyone did their best to avoid him. Except for Kathleen, the school bully, and her gang, who loved to pick on the kids everybody else wanted to avoid. She spotted him sitting all by himself at lunch and rubbed her hands together, ready to go in for the kill.

Isra noticed her heading towards him just as she was about to sit down. "What is it?" her friend Chloe asked her.

"She's going after that new kid," Isra replied, narrowing her eyes as Kathleen's gang surrounded him.

"Don't you dare-" Chloe began.

"I'll be right back," Isra told her, racing off towards the new guy.

"She'll kill you!" Chloe called after her, but Isra just ignored her.

"You think you're too good for this school, don't you?" Kathleen sneered at the boy, who glared at her unflinchingly.

"Um, yes?" he replied coolly.

Isra was impressed, but she knew he was going to get beat up anyways. Well, she had to do _something_ about it, even at the risk of getting beat up herself. She took a deep breath. "Leave him alone Kathleen," she snapped, putting her hands on her hips.

Kathleen laughed. "Well look at you, going about being the big hero. What are you going to do about it, runt?"

Isra seethed. Yes, she was shorter than Kathleen, but the bully was also three years older. Isra was small for her age and she hated being called out on it. "Don't call me runt!" Her voice sounded embarrassingly shrill, even to her.

"Make me," Kathleen retorted. She shoved Isra hard in the chest and she stumbled backwards a few steps, tripped, and landed on her butt. The other bullies laughed. Fuming, Isra imagined spiders crawling around in their clothes.

Kathleen suddenly froze mid-laugh. She scratched the back of her neck and screamed. Spiders were crawling out from the back of her shirt. There were spiders crawling into her tights and spiders crawling into her hair. The same thing was happening to her friends. Shrieking, they ran out of the cafeteria. Isra just watched them go, stupefied.

She looked at the new boy, who was just staring at her, looking equally surprised. "I didn't do that!"

"Do what?" he asked, pretending to be confused.

Isra smiled. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," he replied.

"I'm Isra Black," she said, holding her hand out to him.

"What kind of name is Isra?" he asked.

"What kind of name is Draco?" she retorted. He grinned and shook her hand. After that, they were basically inseparable. As the other kids tended to avoid Draco, and consequently Isra, the two of them quickly became best friends.

The day before Isra's eleventh birthday, another strange thing happened. She had invited Draco over for dinner and just as they sat down, an owl swooped in through the window. Isra screamed, but neither her parents nor Draco looked very surprised. The owl dropped a letter in her lap and landed on a nearby windowsill.

"Open it," Draco said, sounding excited.

Isra turned the envelope over in her hand. There was her name and address on the front in thick green ink. She began to slit the letter open with her finger.

"Open it!" Draco cried, bouncing up and down. Her parents exchanged amused glances.

"Hey, you open your weird letters that are delivered by owls your way, I'll open mine my way," she retorted.

Draco rolled his eyes dramatically. "You are so slow Isra!"

"Call me slow and you walk out of this house!" she snapped.

"Please, you two," her mother sighed.

"Sorry," they said at the same time, grinning at each other.

Isra opened the letter and pulled out several sheets of thick paper. She read it silently. "What is…'Hogwarts'?" she asked.

Draco bounced out of chair and hugged her. "Yes! You got in!"

"Get off me!" she yelped, but it was too late. He tackled her right out of her chair, both of them tumbling to the ground laughing. Draco helped her up as Isra's parents exchanged hopeless looks.

"I'll explain it to you," her mother replied, taking the letter from her. "Hogwarts is a school of witchcraft and wizardry, as it says on the letter. You are being invited to go there to hone your potential and your abilities. There's a list of school supplies that you need to get."

"When does it start?" she asked excitedly.

"It's all in the letter!" snapped Draco.

"September 1st," her father replied at the same time.

Isra blinked. "You knew about this all along," she said slowly, finally understanding. "You knew I had magic powers, and you never told me about it?"

"This was to keep you safe, darling," her mother explained, coming over to her and giving her a hug. "We're so proud of you."

"Do you have powers too?" she demanded, annoyed that she'd never been told about this.

Draco stared at her. "You didn't know? The Black family is one of the most ancient lineages! My mother was a Black."

"Wait, we're related?" Isra gasped. Her father just chuckled.

"Would you like to go to this school?" her mother asked.

"Yes! Of course!" she cried. Her mother smiled, scribbled out a quick note and tied it to the owl's leg. The owl flew off again.

"This is so awesome!" Draco said. "I knew you had powers the first day we met, when you made spiders appear in those girls' clothes. I was hoping you'd get to go to the school, because sometimes it doesn't happen, you know? And-"

Isra covered his mouth with her hand. "Just stop talking."

He grinned. "Fine."

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Again, read and review!


	3. Chapter 2

July 31st. Her eleventh birthday. Isra was practically bouncing with excitement, but it wasn't just because it was her birthday. Her parents had promised to take her to get her school supplies for Hogwarts.

"Hurry up Iz!" her father called up the stairs. "We're heading out soon." She flew down in her nightclothes. "After you get dressed and eat breakfast, hon."

As the Blacks were about to get into their car, Draco and his parents appeared out of nowhere. Literally. "Lucius," Isra's father said coolly, holding out his hand to Draco's dad.

"Perseus," he replied, shaking it.

"Narcissa," Mrs. Black greeted Mrs. Malfoy.

"Lyra," she said loftily, embracing Isra's mother while seeming to be keeping her distance.

"You weren't thinking about _driving_ to Diagon Alley, were you?" Mr. Malfoy asked almost mockingly.

"Well…" Mr. Black began.

"Never mind," Mr. Malfoy replied. "We were just heading out ourselves. Come with us, won't you?" It seemed to be a challenge.

"Very well then," Mr. Black sighed.

Draco and Isra exchanged glances. "Can we _go_ already?" Draco asked impatiently.

Mrs. Malfoy smiled at him. "Of course, darling." She took his hand, Draco grabbed Isra's and suddenly, they were in the middle of a bustling street.

Isra looked around in amazement. "Where are we?"

"Diagon Alley," Draco replied. "Did you bring the list of supplies?"

"I thought you brought it," she retorted. He just looked at her. "Of course I brought it, silly," she grinned, pulling it out of her pocket.

"We need to go to the bank and get some money first," her father told her. "Come on, Isra. Gringotts is this way."

"Oh, we're not in a hurry," Mr. Malfoy told him. "We'll come with you. Besides, Perseus, I have some business to discuss with you." Isra shivered at the way he said her father's name. She had never met Mr. Malfoy before, but she quickly made up her mind. She didn't like him.

"Race ya!" Draco called, breaking her from her train of thoughts. He took off with Isra running behind him. She lost because there were so many wonderful things to look at. As she ran, she bumped into a boy who looked to be about her age.

"Oh sorry," she gasped. The boy had black hair and green eyes. Eyes like…

"It's all right," he replied. Both kids froze, staring at each other.

"Do I know you?" Isra asked.

"I don't think so," he replied. "But I-"

"Come on Isra!" Draco yelled. "Hurry up, you slowpoke!"

"That does it!" she called. "Don't you dare call me slowpoke! You are so dead meat!"

"See you around," the black-haired boy said. She nodded good-bye and ran after Draco.

She found him already standing on the steps of Gringotts.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

"This place is amazing!" she replied.

"Let's go," Isra's father said as they caught up. "We're going to vault seven hundred eleven."

He headed for a creature sitting behind a desk and showed him a key. "What's that?" Isra whispered.

"It's a key," Draco replied.

"Not the key," she snapped. "The thing sitting behind the desk."

"That's a goblin," Draco hissed. "And be polite! They're dangerous when they're angry."

"This way," another goblin said, leading them down towards a hallway. He opened the door "After you, miss." At that moment, he looked at Isra and gave a start. She quickly walked past him into a corridor with flaming torches along the walls. There was a little cart waiting on the railroad tracks.

"What was that about?" Draco whispered. She shrugged.

"Into the cart now," the goblin said. We all climbed in and the cart sped down the tracks. Isra squealed.

"Not scared are you?" called Draco.

"Scared? This is awesome!" she replied. "It's almost as good as a roller coaster." She thought she heard Mr. Malfoy snort, but she didn't pay much attention to him.

"A what?" Draco yelled over the squeaking of the cart.

"Never mind!" Isra hollered back.

The cart screeched to a stop in front of a vault and her father handed her the key. "Here you go, Isra dear."

Isra opened the vault and gasped. "Wow!" The room was full of coins like the ones Draco had shown her earlier.

Mrs. Black handed her a small bag. "Just fill this up, dear. That should be enough for your school supplies. With prices inflating as they are-"

"This is great, Mom! Thanks!" Isra beamed, not in the mood for an economics lesson.

They rode the cart back up. "Draco, dear, why don't you and Isra head over to Madame Malkin's for your robes, while your father and I go and get your other supplies?" Mrs. Malfoy suggested.

"But I want to see the bookshop first," Isra pleaded.

"There will plenty of time to see it later, honey," her mom told her. "Besides, we have some…business to discuss with Draco's parents."

"Come on!" Draco didn't give Isra a chance to answer. He dragged her over to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and they went in.

"Hogwarts, dears?" a plump looking witch standing at the door asked them. "All right, young lady, would you mind heading to the back for your fittings? Young man, please step up onto one of the stools here."

"See you later," Isra grinned heading to the back of the shop. Another witch came up to her.

"Come on, dear, step on the stool," she said. "Hm…extra small?"

Isra blushed. "Yes."

"Oh, that's nothing to be ashamed of," she replied. "There is nothing wrong with being on the small side. I remember another young witch who was small for her age when she was just starting school, but she grew into one of the loveliest young witches you had ever seen. It's a pity what happened to her, though."

"What happened to her?" Isra asked.

She looked up at Isra as if startled by the sound of her voice. She studied Isra's face for a moment. "It couldn't be…no, it's not possible." She patted Isra's shoulder and handed her a package. "You're all set, dearie."

"Thank you," Isra said politely, taking the package from the witch and handing her the money. As she walked out, she noticed the witch still watching her curiously.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked. He had just finished as well.

"That witch gave me the creeps," Isra replied. "She kept looking at me as if she'd seen a ghost, or something."

"Just forget it," he urged. "Come on. My dad already got my books, but it looks like you still need yours. Hurry up, I want to go look at the broomsticks."

"Draco, it says in huge capital letters that first years can't bring their own broomsticks," she snapped.

He just waved that away. "Come on Goody-Two Shoes. Flourish and Blotts is that way. I'll meet you back here later. I forgot to get you a birthday present."

"I told you, you don't have to!" Isra called after him. He didn't hear her.

Isra walked into Flourish and Blotts timidly. "Excuse me, sir," she said politely to the shop keeper. "I-"

"New to Hogwarts, are you?" he asked pleasantly. He picked up a stack of books all strapped together. "Here are the books for first years. That will be 20 Galleons."

"Thank you sir," she replied. She handed him the coins and took the books. She immediately sat down on a bench and flipped through them. The titles sounded incredible. She grabbed The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) and began to read.

"Isra? Oh there you are," she heard her mother call. Isra jumped to her feet, arms full and ran to meet her mother.

"Here, dear," Mrs. Black said. "I got your telescope, cauldron, and scales. I also got some basic potions ingredients. You can put everything else in your cauldron; it makes it easier to carry. All you need now is a wand."

Isra grinned. "This is bloody awesome."

"Don't say 'bloody'," her mother scolded. "It's not polite."

"Sorry," Isra said quickly.

Mrs. Black led Isra into Ollivander's. "I'll just wait outside, dear. Go on."

"Hello?" Isra called, entering the shop. "Is anyone here?" There was no answer. She turned around to sit down on a rocking chair to wait, but just before her butt touched the seat, a voice spoke.

"Good afternoon, Miss Black."

Isra jumped out of the chair, twisted around and wound up on the floor. An old man stepped forward. "Be careful, child. I wouldn't want you to hurt youself." She grinned sheepishly. "Now, let's take your measurements. Which is your wand arm? Your right? I thought so." A tape measure hovered around her, taking measurements.

Mr. Ollivander held out a wand to her. "I believe this is it. Twelve inches, willow and mahogany, with a core of phoenix feather. Most of my wands are made of one kind of wood, but I used two for this one. Unusual and very powerful. It seems to be choosing you." Isra took the wand from him and waved it a little bit. A glow of light brightened up the room.

"Wow," she whispered.

Mr. Ollivander smiled. "Very good, young lady. I have a feeling you'll grow to be just as good a witch as your mother."

Isra shivered. He sounded as if he knew something that she didn't. She paid him for the wand and quickly left the shop.

Isra spotted her parents talking in low voices to Draco's parents. Seeing that they hadn't noticed her, she crept a little closer to hear what they were saying.

"-be foolish, Perseus," Mr. Malfoy hissed. "The girl is essential. We took her when she was little, thinking she might be useful and now she will be necessary for our plans. The boy-"

"I agree, Lucius," Mr. Black interrupted. "But the fact is, none of the wizarding world knows her true identity. They believe that she is really of the Black lineage."

"Have you looked at her recently?" Mr. Malfoy retorted. "She looks just like her mother did. Sooner or later, they'll figure it out. Dumbledore probably knows already. That old coot knows everything." He patted Mr. Black on the arm. "Perseus, I greatly appreciate the sacrifice you and Lyra have made to allow her a happy childhood, but now it is time for her to join the cause."

"Well, what can we do?" Mr. Black asked. "I'll admit I was wrong to keep her so oblivious, but-"

"Isra!" Draco called, running towards her. He carried a cage in his hand with a large barn owl inside. "This is Orion. Do you like him?" The barn owl blinked wisely at her.

"Oh!" Isra gasped. "Is it for me?" She forgot all about the conversation she'd heard between the parents at that moment.

"Happy birthday," Draco replied with the half-smile that he reserved for her.

Isra gave him a hug. "You're the best friend ever!" He smiled and hugged her back.

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I know it's going slowly right now, but I promise there will be some action! Read and review!


	4. Chapter 3

The first of September, when they were supposed to take the train to Hogwarts, just couldn't come soon enough. Isra spent every day either reading her textbooks or discussing them with Draco. Draco introduced her to some wizard treats. Her favorite by far were Broomstick Caramels, which flew around when prodded with a wand.

Finally, the day arrived and she stood at the train station with her parents. "Where is Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" she asked excitedly.

"Between Nine and Ten, of course," her mother replied.

"It's just a wall," Isra said blankly.

"No," her father grinned. "This is the first step of your journey into the world of witchcraft and wizardry. Go on. Go at it at a run. And whatever you do, don't turn to the side."

Isra took a step forward, and then stopped. "Mom, Dad, you never answered my question. Do you have powers? Why didn't you ever tell me that I'm a witch?"

"We don't have powers," her mother replied. "We're both Muggles."

"You're both _what_?" Isra asked.

"Muggles," her father explained. "It's a word used to describe someone who is non-magical."

"But Draco said-" she began.

"Yes, the Blacks are an ancient wizarding lineage, but I was just a Muggle adopted into the Black family," her father replied. "Can't say that the relatives were too pleased about that."

"So we're _not_ related to Draco?" Isra asked.

"We're related by name," Mr. Black chuckled.

"Oh, Isra," her mother warned. "Don't tell Draco that your father and I are Muggles."

"Why?" Isra protested. "He's my best friend. I tell him everything!"

"Well, you're not going to tell him about this," her mother replied. "Understood?"

Isra nodded, not understanding. "Yes mother."

Her mother gave her a hug. Mr. Black clapped her on the shoulder, but said nothing. "We must leave early, darling," her mother told her. "Good-bye dear."

Isra shrugged. "See you then," she muttered, a bit miffed by her parents' fairly cold good-bye. She grabbed the cart that her trunk, owl, and supplies were in, and ran for the wall. She braced herself for a crash, but instead, she found herself standing before a huge red train. "The Hogwarts Express," it said in large letters. She climbed on to the train, waited for a toad to hop by, and began searching for a place to sit. She saw Draco sitting with several other kids in a compartment and she eagerly opened the door.

"Draco!" Isra called.

Draco turned around and gave her a long cold stare. She was so surprised, she took a step back. "What do you want, Black?" he sneered.

"My name is Isra," she snapped. "Hello? Quit playing games Draco."

"Ha, as if," he sneered. "I've got better things to do than play games with the likes of you, Mudblood." He was acting just as he had the first day they'd met. Before the spider incident, of course. Isra just stared at him, shocked.

Annoyed by his lack of explanation, humiliated by his treatment, and not too sure what a "Mudblood" was, she turned away. "Fine," she snapped. "Then you can take this back." She held out the owl he had given her.

Draco looked stricken. He quickly closed the door, leaving her holding Orion and feeling kind of stupid. She turned away and went to look for another compartment. Almost all of them were full, but she found one with only two people sitting in it. She opened the door and two boys looked up. "Hi," she said shyly. "Can I sit here? All the other compartments are full."

"Sure," one of them, a tall, gangly boy with flaming red hair and lots of freckles, replied.

Isra took the seat next to his. "Thanks."

"Hey, you're-" the other boy said.

She looked up and found herself looking at the boy she had bumped into in Diagon Alley. "So, we meet again, huh?"

"I'm Harry Potter," he told her.

"The boy with the lightning scar?" She vaguely remembered the stories Draco had told her about him and a guy called You-Know-Who, but she hadn't paid much attention to them. "I've heard of you." The boy next to her choked, but Harry looked relieved that she wasn't making a big deal out of it. "I'm Isra Black."

"I'm Ron Weasley," said the boy sitting next to her. "Chocolate frog?"

"Thanks," she grinned, taking it from him and unwrapping it.

There was a knock on the door and a boy with a round face came in. His eyes were full of tears. "Have you guys seen a toad?" he asked.

Harry and Ron shook their heads, but Isra piped up. "I thought I caught a glimpse of one when I was getting on the train. So it must be on here still."

"Yeah…thanks." The boy's head drooped and he went off, sniffling.

There was a pause. "Nice owl," Ron told Isra wistfully, looking at the barn owl that was eyeing the rat he had on his lap rather hungrily. "What's its name?"

"His name is Orion," she replied. "My friend named it and gave it to me."

"Who's your friend?" Harry asked.

"What's your owl's name?" Isra asked him, ignoring his question.

"Her name's Hedwig," he replied.

"She's beautiful," Isra murmured. Orion screeched. "Oh, I'm sorry! You're cute too." She glanced at Scabbers. "And um…so is your rat, Ron." He looked unconvinced and she shivered. "Sorry. I don't like rats that much." The boys laughed. "It's not funny! One tried to eat my face when I was little." She pointed to the scar on her cheek.

The compartment door opened again. The round-faced boy was back and there was a girl with him. She was already wearing her Hogwarts robes. "Has any of you seen a toad?" she asked. She had bushy brown hair and buckteeth.

"I saw it earlier," Isra began, "but I don't know where it is now."

"Well, thanks anyways," the girl replied. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Isra Black," Isra replied.

"Harry Potter," Harry said.

"Are you really?" Hermione gasped. "I know all about you, of course. I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in quite a few of them."

"Am I?" asked Harry.

Hermione seemingly didn't hear his question. She just kept talking. Finally, she said, "You three should change. I've heard we'll be there soon." And with that, they left.

"I hope she's not in my house," grumbled Ron.

"Oh come on," Isra snapped. "She seemed nice."

"Yeah," Harry said. "Nice enough to talk without ever noticing that a conversation is between two or more people, not one." He turned to Ron. "What house are your brothers in?"

"Gryffindor," Ron said gloomily. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. Especially if I get into Slytherin."

"Not going to happen," Isra said firmly. Harry and Ron both turned to her, suprised. "Slytherin was the house the Dark Lord was in. You'd have to be pure evil to get in there." Ron smiled.

"Which house do you want, Isra?" Harry asked.

"I don't really know," Isra replied. "Anything but Slytherin, I guess." She didn't add that the real reason was to avoid a certain person who wanted to be in Slytherin more than anything.

The compartment door opened and three boys walked in. One of them was…

Speak of the devil. Isra immediately crossed her arms and turned away, staring out the window as if her life depended. Or at least her dignity. Because she felt tears threatening to break at any moment.

"So it's true," Malfoy said. "They're saying all down the train the Harry Potter's in this compartment."

"I am," Harry replied smoothly.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," Malfoy said.

Ron coughed. "I've heard of you."

"I've heard of you too," Malfoy replied. "You must be a Weasley." He turned to Harry. "You'll find that some of us are better than others. You don't want to get involved with the wrong sort."

"Oh, you mean like you?" Isra snarled, jumping to her feet and whirling around to face Malfoy.

"Watch your mouth, Black," he snapped, turning pink. He added in an undertone, "_Mudblood_." Isra still didn't know what it meant.

"Make me, Malfoy" she retorted. They glowered at each other.

"I think you should leave," Harry said to Malfoy, slightly worried at the way he and Isra were glaring at each other. "_Now._"

"What are you going to do? Fight us?" Malfoy smirked. "These are my friends, Crabbe and Goyle." Isra finally glanced at them. They looked more like bodyguards than friends. They were bigger than Harry and Ron put together. She started to get worried about what she'd started.

"Get out," she said quietly to Malfoy.

"Make me," Malfoy retorted.

Isra reached over and grabbed Scabbers, dangling him in Malfoy's face. "I know you don't like rats," she whispered. "You remember what I did with spiders on the first day? I can do the same with rats, if you like."

Malfoy's eyes widened, but he just sneered at her. "You don't like them either, Black."

"But I'm not _scared_ of them," Isra replied.

"I'm not either," he snapped.

She held Scabbers a little bit closer to his face and smirked as he flinched back. "Really? Have you ever seen what a hungry rat can do to a child?" She tapped the scar on her cheek. "Those sharp little teeth gnaw into the flesh and-"

Malfoy shivered so slightly, Isra thought she might have imagined it. "Come on boys," he ordered, still trying to sound tough. "There's nothing interesting here." They left the compartment.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Isra. "You know Malfoy?"

"Yeah," she replied. Both boys waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't.

"I met him at Madame Malkin's," Harry told them. "He seemed like…a 'nice' guy."

"I've heard of his family," Ron said. "They used to be supporters of You-Know-Who."

There was a long silence, which Isra broke. "I suppose we should change." They took off their jackets and pulled on their robes.

A voice echoed through the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train. It will be taken to the school separately."

An excited grin crossed Isra's face. The boys stuffed their pockets with the last of the sweets and they left the compartment.

* * *

Okay, I admit that it took longer than I'd thought to get them to Hogwarts. Anyway, read and review!


	5. Chapter 4

A voice called, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

"That's Hagrid," Harry whispered to Ron and Isra.

"Follow me firs' years!" Hagrid called. The first years obediently followed him down a steep narrow path. Isra tripped and nearly knocked Ron over, but Harry caught her by the back of her robes. Nobody said anything.

"Hang on, kids," Hagrid told them. "Yeh'll see Hogwarts in a sec."

The path opened onto a black lake. On the other side was a vast castle, perched high on a mountain. Everyone gasped. At the edge of the lake were several little boats. Harry and Ron climbed into one boat, followed by Neville and Hermione. Isra looked around. The only other boat that had an empty spot was Malfoy's. She screwed up her pride and sat in the very front so she wouldn't have to talk to or look at him.

The boats took off at the same time, carrying them across a lake, through a tunnel, until they reached a small underground dock. They clambered out of the boats and followed Hagrid onto the courtyard. They climbed up the steps to the front door. Hagrid knocked on the door, which opened immediately.

A tall black-haired witch in green robes stood there. Hagrid nodded respectfully to her. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you, Hagrid," she replied. She stepped aside, letting the first years walk past her into the entrance hall. They followed Professor McGonagall into a small empty chamber and crowded close together.

Professor McGonagall made a short welcome speech, telling them about the four Houses of Hogwarts and the House Cup.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes," she told them. "Please wait quietly." She left the room.

Isra felt a slight breeze in the hall and shivered. She looked up and gasped along with most of the other students as twenty ghosts flew in through the wall. They were arguing with each other about something.

"This is _the_ coolest thing that's ever happened to me," Isra beamed to Harry and Ron. They smiled back weakly.

Professor McGonagall finally returned and led them through the doors into the Great Hall. She lined them up in front of the teachers' table and them placed a stool and a dirty hat in front of them. To their amazement, the hat began to sing.

"_That's_ going to be sorting us?" Harry whispered.

"Seems like it," Isra replied.

"I'll kill my brothers," Ron muttered. "They said it would hurt!"

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and be sorted," Professor McGonagall told them. She unrolled a scroll and called:

"Abbot, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.

"Black, Isra!"

Isra walked calmly over to the hat. For all her calm exterior, she was quaking on the inside. However, she'd grown used to hiding weakness because of her friendship with-

Anyways. She pushed aside the thought. She picked up the hat, sat on the stool and put it on. The hat drooped over her eyes, looking like it was swallowing her whole head.

"A Black, eh?" The hat murmured in her ear. "Well, well, you're a tough one, but I think you belong in SLY-"

_NO!_ she silently screamed furiously. _Anything but Slytherin. _She faintly noticed the surprised buzz going around the room. The hat had started to shout, but had suddenly stopped. However, what she mainly heard was her own sigh of relief from the close call.

"Anything but Slytherin?" the hat repeated. "Are you sure? I see it all in here. Slytherin could help you be the great witch I know you will be. It is evident in the first spell you ever cast."

_Please, not Slytherin_, Isra silently pleaded. _I'm not really a Black. _

"Oh no?" the hat asked. "Ah yes, I see. There's nothing wrong with being Muggle-born. Oh, don't listen to young Mr. Malfoy. Now let's see then. Shall it be Ravenclaw? Quite intelligent, are you not? Hard-working, just like a Hufflepuff. My, my, you _are_ a difficult one, but I think I've got it. GRYFFINDOR!"

The table on the far left exploded in cheers. Isra took the hat off and made her way towards them. She was dimly aware that the teachers at their table were craning their necks to get a better look at her, but she just took her seat and gave Harry and Ron a tiny smile.

"Granger, Hermione!"

It was the bushy-haired girl from the train.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Hermione almost skipped to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Isra, who smiled at her.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Isra turned away, staring up at the candles overhead.

"SLYTHERIN!" screamed the hat and Malfoy swaggered off to join his friends, looking pleased with himself.

"Do you know that boy?" Hermione asked Isra.

Isra blinked. "No. What makes you think I do?" Hermione just gave her a look. Finally, Isra sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Potter, Harry!"

There was a surprised buzz. Most of the students stood up, craning their necks for a better look at him.

Harry was apparently a very difficult choice, because he sat on the stool for almost five minutes. Finally, the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table exploded, leaping from their seats in excitement. Professor McGonagall had to wait for silence before continuing the Sorting.

"Weasley, Ronald!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Yes!" Isra clenched a fist in triumph. She noticed Harry give a sigh of relief.

Blaise Zabini, the last student to be sorted, was put in Slytherin. He was a handsome dark-haired boy with dark eyes and tanned skin. Isra caught his eye and he gave her the once-over, winking at her. She flushed slightly and watched him walk to the Slytherin table, where he sat across from Malfoy. Isra saw Malfoy glare at her and quickly dropped her eyes to her plate.

Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll, picked up the hat and stool and took them away.

Isra looked around at her new classmates and Housemates. She, Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Stacey Spinks were the five first year Gryffindor girls. Harry, Ron, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom, the boy with the toad, were the five first year Gryffindor boys.

Albus Dumbledore got to his feet, beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, looking like nothing could please him more than to see his students. "Welcome!" he called, in a voice that made them all truly feel welcome. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Everyone clapped and cheered.

Isra gasped as suddenly the dishes in front of them piled with food. Suddenly, she felt something like cold water run down her back. She muffled a shriek and whirled around, spotting a ghost with a ruff and tights patting her shoulders.

"Greetings there, first years," said the ghost. "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. The Gryffindor Ghost."

"I know you!" Ron gasped. "You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"_Nearly_ headless?" Seamus Finnigan repeated.

Sir Nicholas looked slightly annoyed. "Yes. _Nearly_ headless." He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head flopped to the side as if on a hinge. He popped his head back on, looking pleased at their stunned and slightly disgusted faces.

When everyone had eaten all they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean. A moment later, the desserts appeared. Isra wished she hadn't eaten so much. She wanted to try some of everything, but she was much too full. She tuned in as the other first years started talking about their families.

"Hey Isra," Dean called. "What's your story?"

"Yeah, how come the hat almost put you in Slytherin?" Seamus added.

"Aren't the Blacks, like, a Pureblood family?" Stacey asked.

Isra shrugged. "My parents were both Muggles. My dad was adopted by the Blacks, but he wasn't magic. And they both knew about magic, but they never told me about it. But I kind of figured out that something was different about me, you know?" She told them the spider story. "And then I willed their clothes full of spiders."

"And it worked?" Harry asked eagerly. Isra smiled slyly and everyone laughed again, except Ron, who turned kind of green.

Finally, the desserts disappeared as well and Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet again. Everyone stopped talking. He made a short speech reminding the old students and informing the new ones of a few of the ways they could get in trouble at Hogwarts. "And now it's bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. Isra was feeling sleepy, but she woke right up when the portraits along the corridors whispered to each other as they passed. They finally stopped before a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," Percy replied. The portrait swung forward, revealing a hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, which was full of cozy armchairs. A warm fire blazed at the other end of the room. Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another.

The girls headed up the stairs to their dorm. Five minutes later, they were still climbing. "Are they serious?" mumbled Lavender, sounding sleepy. "How many more stairs do we have to climb?"

"Keep going. We must be almost there," Hermione replied.

At the top of a spiral staircase, they found their dorm at last. Five large four-posters with red velvet curtains were lined up along the wall. Each girl's trunk was at the foot of a bed. Too tired to say much beyond "good night", they pulled on their pajamas and climbed into their beds.

Isra must have fallen asleep at once, because she had a strange dream. She was back in Diagon Alley, standing beside her father as talked to Mr. Malfoy. Draco Malfoy was standing beside his father, facing her.

"The girl is essential if he is to rise again," Mr. Malfoy was saying. "We took her when she was little, thinking she might be useful and now she will be necessary for our plans."

"They believe that she is really of the Black lineage," Isra's father countered.

"She looks just like her mother did," Mr. Malfoy objected. "Sooner or later, they'll figure it out. It is time for her to join the cause."

Then Draco turned to her and sneered. "I've got better things to do than play games with the likes of you, Mudblood." He looked just like his father, tall, proud, and cold.

And then Isra saw Harry, who had a hand to his forehead, wincing in pain. There was a flash of green light and a horrible high-pitched laugh. She woke up, screaming.

Gasping, she threw back the curtains and climbed out of bed. Luckily, her bed was right next to the window, so she wouldn't wake up any of the other girls as she tiptoed over to it. She unlatched the window and stuck her head out, letting the cold air wash away her nightmare. She felt sick.

When she'd had enough, she closed the window again and pressed her cheek to the glass. She took a deep breath and turned away. As she did so, her wrist caught on a nail or something on the windowsill. A sharp pain shot through her arm. By the dim moonlight, she could see blood on her wrist. She darted to the girls' bathroom and washed it, but the bleeding didn't stop. _Maybe they have bandages or something in the common room_, she thought. She raced down the stairs and into the common room.

Harry was there, digging through drawers and cabinets. He looked up almost guiltily as she walked in. "Looking for bandages?" he asked.

"How'd you know?" she gasped.

"Because I am too," he replied.

She went over to the other side of the room and started searching. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Yeah," he replied. "There was a flash of green light-"

"And a high-pitched laugh-" Isra added.

"And my scar started hurting," Harry finished. They stared at each other.

"How'd you know?" they asked at the same time, and then answered, "because I saw it."

"You were in it," Isra told him.

"And so were you," Harry replied.

"Weird."

"Yeah."

After searching for ten minutes, they resigned themselves to the fact that there were no bandages in the common room. "What are we going to do now? I don't particularly want to bleed to death," Harry said.

Isra tore off the hem of her nightgown and ripped it in half. "This will have to work for now."

"Can you tie it for me?" Harry asked. "I cut my wrist."

"Me too," Isra replied.

They froze. "Right arm?"

"Yup."

There was a long pause. "Let me see your arm," Isra said, breaking the awkward silence. She pulled two tissues out of her pocket. "Hold this against the cut until the bleeding stops."

"It's not stopping," Harry replied, wiping the blood from his arm. "Hm...that's strange."

"What?"

"It's shaped like the sun," he told her. "Look."

She held out her wrist. "Mine's shaped like a crescent moon."

They looked at each other. Without thinking, they crossed forearms with each other and touched their wrists together. There was a blinding flash of light-

Isra sat up straight in bed, gasping. She blinked in the sunlight shining through the window. The window…

She got up and ran over to it, running her hands along the windowsill, trying to find the spot where she'd cut herself yesterday. There was nothing. It was perfectly smooth. Had it been a dream then?

She glanced down at her nightgown and froze in shock. The hem had been torn off.

Ten minutes later, she was racing into the Gryffindor common room. She nearly collided with Harry. "Harry!"

"Isra!"

"I need to talk to you!" both of them panted at the same time.

"We'll catch you later, Ron," Harry said quickly. Ron shrugged and left the room. "Hold out your right wrist on the count of three." Isra nodded. "One…two…THREE!"

They yanked up their sleeves and stared at each other's right wrists. On Harry's wrist was a thin scar shaped like the sun; on Isra's was a scar in the shape of the moon.

_It wasn't a dream_, Isra gasped.

_Guess not_, Harry replied.

It took them both a moment to realize that neither of them had actually said the words out loud.

"Want to go get breakfast and pretend that this never actually happened?" Harry asked.

"Good idea," Isra agreed and they raced off towards the Great Hall.

* * *

Yay! Finally! They're at school! Now the real fun can begin...

Read and review!


	6. Chapter 5

After the first few days, Isra decided that classes were dull. Oh sure, she enjoyed the lessons, she found her teachers fascinating (even if they did give her weird looks), and she thought the spells were the coolest things in the world. But it was all too easy for her. Though she hadn't memorized the textbooks the way Hermione had, the magic came to her too easily. It was…abnormal, in a way. So she found other ways to amuse herself.

On Friday morning, she and the Gryffindors headed for Potions class, which they had with the Slytherins. On the way down to the dungeons, a voice called, "Oy! Black!"

It was Filch. "It was you, wasn't it?" he snarled.

She managed to keep her face perfectly smooth. "What was me?"

He pointed in reply. What she saw completely cracked her up.

It was the Slytherins. And they were completely pink. From the ends of their hair to the tip of their toes, every inch of skin had been dyed hot pink.

Isra fell over laughing. "What-? How-?" She giggled. "No wonder none of you were at breakfast!"

"It's not funny, Black," a cold voice sneered. It was Malfoy. "And you, especially, won't be laughing when you're in detention for this!"

Isra snorted. "Me? You think _I_ did it?" She laughed. "Please. I'm just a first year. How on Earth would I know a spell like that?"

The Slytherins didn't have an answer for this. First years weren't supposed to know a lot…

"A relative of yours enjoyed pulling similar pranks once," Filch sneered. "I wouldn't be surprised if you take after him. So, you get a detention."

Isra stared at him. "That's not fair! You can't just punish me because of my family name."

"Keep arguing and I'll give you another detention," Filch replied. "I'll see you in my office at tonight at eight."

Malfoy smirked and pushed roughly past her as the Slytherins laughed. Furious, Isra whirled around and stormed into the dungeons. She was followed shortly by the Slytherins. As soon as they walked into the rooms, the Gryffindors howled with laughter.

"What happened to _you_ guys?" Seamus choked. The Slytherins took their seats without answering, but occasionally shot withering glares at the snickering Gryffindors.

Isra slid into the seat next to Hermione with a scowl on her face. To her annoyance, Malfoy sat down on her other side.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Filch thinks _I_ turned the Slytherins pink," Isra muttered. "Just because my last name is Black. And apparently, I had a relative who liked pulling pranks too."

"That doesn't make you guilty!" Hermione cried.

"That's what I told him!" Isra replied. "And he threatened to give me another detention." She sighed.

Hermione raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Isra," she began, "_did_ you do it?"

Isra put on her most innocent look. "Of course not, Hermione," she said, sounding wounded. "After all, first years don't know how to transfigure bathwater into pink dye and they _especially_ don't know how to charm that dye not to show up until the Slytherins left their common room." Her green eyes twinkled, the color changing to hazel, which always happened when she was plotting something.

Hermione gasped, her face torn between a look of disapproval and amused. From the other side of the room, Harry gave Isra an approving wink. How he'd found out, she didn't care to know.

That was the end of her happiness. Her mood grew worse as the class progressed.

What was infuriating was having Malfoy sitting next to her, smirking at her with a look that said "Haha, you got detention" more clearly than the note he'd dropped on her desk, saying those exact same words. (The reason this note was no longer clear was that Isra had crumpled it into a ball and stomped on it while Snape was quizzing Harry so that all of the ink was now smudged.)

What was even more infuriating was that Professor Snape made her work with him on the potion they were making that class.

What _really_ made her want to shove his head into the cauldron was that Malfoy kept counting down to her detention and Snape didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Six hours, forty-seven minutes and fifty-one seconds until your detention, Black," he informed her.

"Thanks Malfoy," she replied through gritted teeth. "Now, give me those nettles or I'll-"

"You'll what, Black?" Malfoy asked. "Land yourself another detention? Go on, it would be amusing. Might even set a new record at the rate you're going."

"What are you talking about?" Isra snapped, intrigued in spite of herself.

"The record for the most detentions received in the first week is three," he replied, only too happy to explain. "Do you know who holds it? Sirius Black." He gasped, as if just having a revelation. "Hm…Sirius _Black_. Isra _Black_. You know, I think that Filch might've been right about something."

"Your mother is his cousin," Isra hissed between clenched teeth. "I wouldn't talk."

"That _blood traitor_ got what he deserved," Malfoy retorted coolly. "He's in Azkaban now. You _do_ know what Azkaban is, don't you?" Knowing the answer was "no", he just went right on. "Azkaban is the wizard prison. It's generally reserved for big crimes. I bet you'll follow in his footsteps one day. I-"

Isra "accidentally" tripped over a stool on her way to get some more rattlesnake gangs. She kicked out his feet from underneath him and then shoved his chest against the cauldron for "support," his head hanging dangerously over the cauldron. "Oh, I am _so_ sorry," she said pointedly.

Malfoy got the point and shut up for a while, though Isra couldn't tell if it was her little threat that did it or if it was the fact that Neville Longbottom had basically exploded his potion all over the floor of the classroom, causing them to jump up onto the stools to avoid getting their shoes burned off.

After Snape sent Neville up to the hospital wing, Malfoy nearly fell over laughing. "Yeah, I'll bet you're just _tickled pink_ about it," Isra hissed.

"Bad pun," Malfoy snapped.

Isra shrugged. "Pink isn't the best color to pun with."

"Are you admitting it was you?" Malfoy asked.

"Does it matter who did it?" Isra retorted. "I'm getting punished for it either way."

"Mudblood, you'll be getting more than detention if you don't recognize your place soon," Malfoy replied. "Just like that Sirius _Black_." It took all the self-control Isra had not to sock him in his sneering pink face right then and there (at least it was pink).

Potions couldn't end soon enough.

At least the rest of the school enjoyed the prank. As they ate dinner that night in the Great Hall, there were flurries of giggles every time someone glanced in the direction of the Slytherins and saw them all glowing fluorescent pink. To Isra's everlasting amusement, even Professor McGonagall was trying hard to suppress a smile when she glanced at the Slytherin table.

Somehow, it got around the school that Isra was the one responsible for the Slytherins' sudden change in color.

The other Gryffindors, the Hufflepuffs, and the Ravenclaws all grinned and shot thumbs up when she walked by. The Slytherins glowered at her and she knew she could expect some nasty form of revenge.

"Bloody brilliant!" a voice yelled, causing her to choke on her treacle tart. She looked up. It was the Weasley twins.

"Great idea, Iz!" Fred beamed.

"Just can't believe _we_ never thought of it," George added.

"But you did take care of that little loophole, didn't you?" Fred asked.

"What loophole?" Isra asked.

"They're going to try washing it off," George replied.

She grinned. "It repels water. And it can take up to two months to fade." At this, the twins cheered and thumped her on the back. She winced.

"How did you get into the Slytherin common room?" Harry asked quietly, once the twins had left.

"I found a secret passage," Isra replied.

"Where is it?" Harry pressed.

Isra pursed her lips. She imagined the passage she'd found. Through the painting of a unicorn flying over a troll's head, then through a door that you had to slither under, then a couple of weird rooms where you'd find yourself walking in the walls, and finally, you'd crawl through a suit of armor and wind up in the Slytherin common room.

"And how did you find this again?" Harry asked. As she imagined the passage, it had felt like he was walking through it beside her.

She shrugged. "I was bored." She took a last swallow of pumpkin juice. "Gotta go. Detention in fifteen minutes."

Isra left the Great Hall to thunderous applause. She paused in the doorway, turned, and bowed dramatically as the Gryffindors cheered.

Once outside the Great Hall, though, it was a different story. Isra's shoulders slumped and she headed for Filch's office. He was already waiting for her.

"We've got something wonderful planned for you tonight," Filch cackled.

"Oh, so you're letting me go?" Isra asked. "Great! Thanks! Bye!" She turned to leave, but Filch caught her by the ear. She sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"None of that cheek with me, girl. You're going into the Forest," Filch told her. "I'll come and collect what's left of you. Believe me, there won't be enough of you to put back together." He pushed her out of the castle and slammed the door.

"Oy, you there!" a deep voice called. She turned and saw the giant from the first day. "Isra Black?"

"I am," Isra replied. "And you're Hagrid?"

"Nice ter meet yeh," Hagrid replied, clapping her on the back. "I need a little help with somethin', okay? I'm the Keeper o' Keys, also the gameskeeper o' sorts. There's a unicorn bin injured or somethin' and we need ter take care o' it. Problem is, unicorns, they don' like men."

"So that's where I come in," Isra finished. "Cool! A unicorn!"

"Scared o' the forest, Isra?" Hagrid asked, chuckling.

"Scared? Ha!" Isra grinned. "I can't wait to see what's in there!" Her eyes flashed hazel again and a strange look crossed Hagrid's face. He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head sadly. "Hagrid? What is it?"

"Nothin'," he replied. "We better set off. Yeh'll need this." He handed her a longbow and a quiver of arrows. "Not supposed ter use magic in the Forest, yeh know." She nodded. "Right then. Let's go."

Isra followed him into the Forbidden Forest. "See that?" he asked, pointing at splashes of silver on the trees. She nodded. "Unicorn blood."

"What could attack a unicorn, Hagrid?" Isra asked.

"Dunno, but it'd have ter be pretty powerful," Hagrid replied. "Them unicorns, they don' get caught easily."

They said nothing else as they continued through the forest. Suddenly, Isra spotted a dark cloaked figure. "Hagrid," she whispered, pulling on his sleeve to stop him. He peered in the direction she was looking in.

"Who's there?" he called. The figure turned its head towards them, then turned away and began to run.

Without thinking, Isra notched an arrow and shot it. It lodged in the figure's shoulder, but whoever it was just kept running.

"Not sure that was wise," Hagrid told her, chuckling. "But yeh've got good aim there." She smiled.

They found the unicorn hiding at the edge of a clearing. "Talk ter her gently," Hagrid instructed. So Isra slowly walked over, holding her hands palms up. She talked to the unicorn soothingly, until the creature allowed her to put some poultice on its wounded leg and tie it up. When she finished, the unicorn nudged her gently with its nose, before springing away.

"That's a powerful thing ter have," Hagrid told her, chuckling. "A unicorn's blessing."

After a while, Isra ventured, "Hagrid, do you know what a Mudblood is?"

Hagrid jumped violently at that word. "Who's bin saying that?"

"Draco Malfoy," Isra replied. "He says I'm a Mudblood."

"It's a word that means Muggle-born," Hagrid replied. "It's not nice." He shook his head. "Not surprised that Malfoy kid was usin' it. His dad was like that too, when he was at school. Later joined You-Know-Who an' the Death Eaters." He looked at her. "Yeh really are Muggle-born?"

Isra nodded. "My father was adopted into the Black family. My mother was also a Muggle."

"Hm," was all Hagrid said. He looked her over again, then shook his head.

Isra decided not to comment on his actions. After all, she'd been getting that from her teachers all week long.

_It's like they recognize you or something_, Harry's voice said in her head.

She nearly jumped. _Wha-? Harry! How long have you been listening in?_

_Long enough_, he replied. _It's quite amusing, probing around in your mind and looking at your memories and such_.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Isra hollered. Then she blinked and realized that she was standing in the middle of the Gryffindor common room and that she had said it out loud. Everyone was staring at her. "Um…my conscience is telling me that it wasn't nice of me to prank the Slytherins and I wanted it to go away?"

To her amazement, everyone accepted her explanation and turned away to whatever they were doing before. As Isra went up to her room and climbed in bed, she thought, _no wonder these guys aren't in Ravenclaw_.

_That was mean_, Harry chided.

"GO AWAY!" she snapped, then clapped a hand over her mouth. _I need to work on this "mental communication" thing_.

_Mm-hmm_, Harry agreed. Isra bit back a scream of frustration.

* * *

If you've lasted this long, thank you for giving me a chance! Please leave a comment; I know you must have _something_ to say.


	7. Chapter 6

Isra went sprinting into the Great Hall after the flying lesson, looking for Harry. The lesson had gone well and Madam Hooch had praised her flying skills, but she hadn't paid any attention to the lesson. Something had happened to Harry after Professor McGonagall had seen him dive and catch the Remembrall that Malfoy had thrown in the air…

"Harry!" she panted, spotting him sitting at the end of the table. "Did she…? You're not…" She paused to catch her breath and slid into the seat across from him. "You're on the Quidditch team!"

Harry smiled. "Yup. They're bending the 'no first years' rule for me."

"Bloody awesome!" Isra grinned.

Harry squinted. "How did you know? It was supposed to be a secret."

"The mental bond thing that we have," Isra replied. "I still don't really understand it."

Harry nodded. After discovering the bond, they had struggled to figure it out. They'd found that if they concentrated really hard, they could send thoughts and memories to each other, or probe each other's minds, but it took a lot of energy. At other times, however, they could do the same without effort and without meaning to, which could be quite embarrassing.

Ron joined them a few moments later and Isra started on her dinner as Harry told him what happened. It had been almost a week since her detention, but she couldn't get that shadowy figure out of her mind. There was something almost inhuman about it. Sure, she had caught a mere glimpse of the figure, but she just _knew_ it somehow. She had been looking for someone with an injured shoulder, but she knew it was useless. Magic could heal wounds quicker than anything. The best thing to do would be to forget about it and not get involved. But would that result in another injured unicorn?

"Isra," Ron said.

She looked up. "Hm?"

"Malfoy and Harry are having a duel. I'm Harry's second and Crabbe is Malfoy's. Malfoy thinks that Crabbe needs a second as well, so to be fair, you're going to be mine, okay?" Ron explained.

Isra grinned. "Of course."

"Midnight then?" Malfoy said. "We'll meet you in the trophy room." He and his bodyguards turned and left.

Isra looked at Harry, grin fading. "Are you really doing this?" Harry nodded. "I don't think it's a good idea. I know Malfoy; he's up to no good."

"If you're scared, you don't have to come," Ron told her.

"I'm not scared!" she snapped. "I just wanted to say what I thought."

"Are you done?" Ron asked. She just glowered at him and stabbed at her food.

"Excuse me," Hermione said. "You _mustn't_ go wandering around at night. You'll lose points for Gryffindor if you're caught. It's really selfish of you." She glared at Isra. "And I can't believe that you're doing this. I thought that being in Gryffindor meant something to you. After all, didn't you argue for Gryffindor when the Sorting Hat was going to put you in Slytherin?"

Isra wiped her mouth. "Being in Gryffindor _does_ mean something to me. It means that three-fourths of the school enjoys the pranks that I pull on the Slytherins." Harry and Ron snorted with laughter. The last remains of the pink dye still hadn't faded from most of the Slytherins.

Hermione huffed, rolled her eyes, and stormed off.

"That girl is so…difficult," Ron muttered.

"At least you don't share a dorm with her," Isra replied.

Isra lay in bed that night, thinking about the duel. She wasn't scared of the duel because she knew neither Harry nor Malfoy knew enough magic to hurt each other. She wasn't scared about wandering around at night because she did it on a regular basis (how else was she supposed to get to the Slytherins' bathwater?) and was never caught. However, she did have a bad feeling about tonight.

_It's time_, Harry informed her softly.

She got up and climbed out of bed, tiptoeing across the dorm floor. She paused at Hermione's bed and pulled the curtains back slightly. In the dim moonlight, she could make out a figure huddled under the covers, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She crept down the stairs and into the Gryffindor common room, where Harry and Ron were waiting. They nodded silently to each other before heading towards the portrait hole.

"I can't believe you're doing this." A lamp flickered on and Isra stifled a scream. It was Hermione Granger and she was most definitely not in bed.

Harry pursed his lips and headed for the portrait hole with Ron and Isra right behind him. Hermione followed them out. "Don't you care about the House Cup? Don't you care about being in Gryffindor? I don't want Slytherin to win this year."

"Go away," Ron snarled.

Hermione huffed. "Fine, but I warned you." She turned back to the picture of the Fat Lady and found it empty. There was no way to get back in. "I'm coming with you guys."

"Please don't," Ron snarled.

"Guys, be quiet!" Isra hissed. "If we're a bigger group, we have a greater chance of getting caught, so shut up and let's get moving before Filch or Mrs. Norris finds us."

Hermione gave her a long look. "How often do you sneak out at night?" Isra chose not to answer that question.

A few steps later, they found Neville, who had gotten himself locked out on his way back from the hospital wing. Much to Isra's dismay, he begged to go with them. As much as she pitied him, Isra had a feeling his clumsiness was going to cost them.

"At this rate, we'll never get there on time," grumbled Ron.

Isra hesitated. "Follow me." She walked towards a giant painting of a dragon scorching a knight. She pointed her wand at the knight and whispered, "_Aguamenti!_" The fire appeared to diminish and the battered-looking knight bowed at her.

"Thank you miss," he said. The painting swung aside, revealing a hidden passage.

Isra turned around. "This will take us directly to the trophy room."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, following her. Isra chose not to answer the question.

They crawled through a mirror and arrived in the trophy room. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't there yet. The minutes ticked by…and suddenly, Isra's ears heard a very familiar voice.

"They're here somewhere…"

"Filch!" she hissed. She ran for the mirror and murmured the spell to open it. "Get in! Go!"

Neville went first, but as he started to climb through, he sneezed. The sound was very quiet and it didn't attract Filch's attention, but the mirror locked itself again. However, Neville wasn't aware of this and as he tried to climb through, he walked right into the mirror. It shattered. This _did_ attract Filch's attention.

The five of them took off, racing through one door, even as they heard Filch's footsteps coming from the other door. "In here!" Isra hissed, throwing aside a tapestry to reveal another secret passage. The others crawled through and she went last, sealing the passage behind her.

They collapsed and paused for breath. "I told you," Hermione gasped. "Malfoy tricked you, you know that? He was trying to get you expelled."

"Let's get back to Gryffindor Tower," Harry muttered.

_She's right, you know_, Isra thought.

_Shut _up, Harry replied. Isra looked surprised. She hadn't meant for him to hear that.

They ran along the passage and wound up in their Charms classroom. The moment they stepped in the classroom, however, an alarm went off. Books and papers came flying off the shelves, attacking them. As they ran out of the classroom, Harry glanced over his shoulder and saw Peeves, practically falling over with laughter. They ran to the end of the corridor and slammed into a door. It was locked.

Isra glanced around to get her bearings and turned pale. "Wait…a second…we shouldn't be here!"

"Open the door!" Harry hissed.

"No, you don't understand," she snapped. "That's the-"

"OPEN IT!" Ron roared as loudly as he dared.

"_Alohomora!_" The door swung open and they all stumbled inside, shutting it behind them.

They heard Filch's footsteps pace along the hallway. They paused and then began to fade away. "Phew," Hermione sighed.

Neville's round, flushed face turned pale. He whimpered and the others turned around slowly.

"This is…" Ron gasped.

"The forbidden corridor," Isra finished.

Facing them was an enormous three-headed dog. It blinked a few times as if surprised to see them as well. Then it began to growl and advance towards them slowly.

Hermione screamed. Harry threw they door open and they bolted out, slamming it behind them. They ran as fast as they could towards the safety of their common room, not caring who saw or heard them.

"Pig snout," Harry panted when they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She swung forward and they piled through the hole into the common room, collapsing into the armchairs.

It took them a while, but they finally managed to recover. "What's that monster doing in Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

"Probably Filch's idea of a good punishment," Isra replied. Neville turned even paler at her answer. "I was kidding!"

"Weren't you looking at it?" Hermione snapped.

"Um yeah, it had three heads and it looked hungry," Ron replied.

"No. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's guarding something," she retorted.

"Guarding something?" Harry repeated. _The package…vault 713…_

_What package?_ Isra asked. Harry quickly told her the story. Hagrid had taken a little package out of the vault and someone had broken into it later that day.

_So you think-_ Isra began.

_That the dog is guarding that package?_ Harry finished. _Exactly. But what could it be?_

_Don't you think we've gotten into enough trouble for one day?_ Isra asked and Harry had to agree. _We can check it out another time_.

Hermione and Isra headed back up to the girls' dorm. The moment they reached the room, both of them spoke at once, snapping at each other as loudly as they could without waking the others.

"Don't say it," Isra hissed.

"I _told_ you," Hermione snarled.

"I told you not to say it!"

"You're almost as bad as them!"

"Hermione!"

"You and those boys could've gotten us all killed or expelled!" she yelled in a fierce whisper. "I thought you would've had more sense. I thought being in Gryffindor was important to you- and not just for practical jokes." She shook her head. "I can't believe you knew where all those passages were. How often do you wander around at night? You'll get yourself expelled for sure!"

"I saved our lives by knowing where those passages were," Isra retorted. She sighed. "Why are you even in Gryffindor, Hermione? I thought we were supposed to be brave?"

The words were barely out of her mouth when she desperately wished she could take them back. Hermione's jaw dropped and tears came to her eyes. Looking like she'd just been slapped, she roughly pushed past Isra and went to bed. Isra swore she could hear muffled sobs.

Isra blinked a few times, shocked with herself. "What did I just do?"

* * *

Please please please review!


	8. Chapter 7

The girls' dorm got really quiet from that day on. Parvati, Lavender, and Stacey were all aware that something had happened and Hermione and Isra weren't speaking to each other. So whenever the two of them were in the same room, the other three girls shut up to see if there would be a confrontation that they could gossip about. Isra, for her part, thought that she ought to apologize, but she was too proud to admit that she was wrong.

Neither Harry nor Ron was aware of this at all, but they didn't mind that fact that Hermione wasn't speaking to them either. They were extremely curious about the package behind the trapdoor and they often tried to guess what it was.

"It must be really valuable," Ron said one day in the common room, "or really dangerous."

"Or both," Harry replied. "What do you think, Isra?"

Isra looked up at them from the book she was reading. "I think you should just get past the dog and see for yourself."

Which wasn't an option. They had tried to find books on three-headed dogs and how to defeat them, but with little success.

But they didn't have much time to think about it, because the next week, Harry's new broomstick arrived, and his Quidditch practices began.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron gasped. "They're the best of the best!"

With Harry at Quidditch practices in the evenings and Ron complaining about all the homework they had to do without ever seeming to actually do it, Isra's mind turned to the next prank she was going to pull. Halloween seemed like a good idea.

By Halloween morning, she had it all set up and ready to go for the feast that night. However, something happened during Charms class that messed up her plans.

They were working on making feathers fly. Harry and Seamus were partners, Isra was working with Neville, and Ron was partnered with Hermione. Isra, who had managed to figure out the spell weeks ago, offered to let Neville make the feather fly first before she gave it a shot. As he tried, she sat back and watched her classmates struggle.

Ron was in a bad mood by the end of the class. Hermione had snapped at him, saying that he wasn't doing the spell correctly, and had gotten it on her first try. "It's no wonder she's got no friends," he complained to Harry and Isra at the end of class. "She's a nightmare."

Someone brushed past Harry. Harry saw Hermione…in tears. "She heard you."

"So?" Ron retorted.

"So, you should apologize," Harry replied.

Ron looked uneasy. "Can't someone else talk to her?" Both boys looked at Isra.

"What?"

"Please Iz?" Ron begged. "Can you talk to her first?"

"Why me?" Isra asked.

"Because you're…" Harry began, looking for the right word. "You're a girl."

Isra glowered at him. "Thanks for noticing. You're not scared of a three-headed dog, but you're scared of Hermione Granger?" She sighed. "Fine, I'll talk to her."

She went running after Hermione, just in time to see the brunette duck into the girl's bathroom. "Hermione!" Hermione slammed into a stall.

"Go away!" Hermione called. She sounded like she was in tears.

"Hermione, it's Isra," Isra snapped.

"I know!" Hermione yelled. "So go away! I know none of you like me anyways. Go back to your stupid friends."

Isra screwed up her pride. "Look. I'm sorry for saying that you weren't brave."

"Oh," Hermione snorted. "_Now_ you're sorry."

"Please come out?" Isra asked. "You're going to be late for class."

"Just leave me alone!" Hermione yelled.

Isra sighed and left the room, running to her next class. "Well?" Harry asked as she breathlessly slid into the seat beside him.

"I tried," Isra replied.

"And it didn't work?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Mr. Obvious," Isra snapped. "She told me to go away." She sighed. "She's crying her eyes out."

"Miss Black!"

"Sorry," Isra replied. The three of them stopped talking and started listening.

"So what are we going to do?" Harry snapped as they left the classroom. "Let her cry?"

"You talk to her then," Isra retorted. "I personally don't feel like getting yelled at again."

"Fine, I will," he growled. "Where is she?"

"Girls' bathroom," Isra replied. Harry gave her a look. "What?" He glared at her some more. "All right, all right! I'll go talk to her again!"

She headed back for the bathroom. "Hermione? Are you still in here?"

"What do you want, Black?" Hermione's voice snapped. It came from the same stall as before.

"I want you to get out of the bathroom stall," Isra replied. "You missed a class! How unlike you is that?" She thought she heard a snort that could be taken for a tiny giggle. "Besides, the Halloween feast is tonight and it's supposed to be amazing. You have to come, you'll love it!"

There was a pause. "Hermione?" Isra ventured after a few minutes had passed.

"Why do you care?" Hermione said bitterly. "None of you like me anyways. Your friend said so himself."

_How's it going?_ Harry asked.

_Not now!_ Isra hissed.

"Ron?" Isra asked. "He was just angry. He didn't know what he was talking about."

"Right," Hermione snorted. "Angry with me."

"Angry that he couldn't get the spell when you could," Isra corrected. "He's probably jealous, you know. You're the smartest witch in the class."

"But I'm not _brave_."

"I said I was sorry about that!" Isra snapped. She sighed. "Would you like me to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness?" She dramatically got on her knees and bowed low before the toilet stall. "I am most heartily sorry, Miss Hermione Granger. Please accept my sincerest apologies." From under the door, Hermione saw Isra bowing and had to laugh.

The door opened and an older girl walked in. She glanced at Isra kneeling on the ground and quickly left, slamming the door shut behind her.

Isra got to her feet. "That girl just gave me a really weird look."

Hermione giggled. "Perhaps that's because you were kneeling on a spider." Isra yelped and glanced down at her knees. Sure enough, there was a smudge on her robes. "I've heard that if you kill one, its relatives will come and attack you in your sleep, but don't worry. You thrash so much, you're bound to scare them away."

Isra gaped. "Did Hermione Jane Granger just attempt to joke?" Not that she found it particularly funny. The reason she thrashed so much in her sleep was that she was dreaming about the hooded figure in the Forbidden Forest and the injured unicorn again. That dream had kept coming back on a fairly regular basis. But that wasn't the point right now.

"Don't get used to it," Hermione replied. "My sense of humor takes vacations more often than Ron's rat Scabbers falls asleep."

"She did it again!" Isra announced to no one in particular.

_How's it going?_ Harry asked again.

_Stop interrupting!_ Isra retorted.

_The feast is starting soon_, Harry warned. _You better hurry up if you don't want to be late._

"So, you coming to the Halloween feast?" Isra asked.

Hermione nearly burst into fresh tears. "I can't! I don't think I can look Harry or Ron in the face."

"Well, you'll have to see them in class," Isra replied. "And besides, I think they feel pretty bad about making you so upset."

Hermione sniffled. "Really?"

"Yes," Isra replied, crossing her fingers behind her back. She wasn't actually sure, but she felt that they _should_ feel bad.

She heard her stomach growl. "So, you ready?"

Hermione blew her nose. "Yeah. Thanks." She opened the door and came out.

Isra smiled. "Anytime. Ron was wrong. You _do_ have friends." She sniffed. "Ew…do you smell that?"

Both girls whirled around as they heard heavy footsteps coming towards them.

A troll was lumbering towards them, dragging a club along the ground. It blinked its tiny eyes, as if surprised to see them, if its brain was big enough for it to register surprise.

Hermione screamed. The door burst open and Harry and Ron came running in, looking pale. "Are you two stupid?" Isra yelled. "Get out of here!"

"Do you think we'd leave you here to die?" Harry retorted.

"How gallant of you," Isra said sarcastically. She pointed her wand at the sinks along the bathroom wall. "_Mobiliarbus!_" The sinks flew off the wall, ripping the plumbing out as they went. The troll merely brushed past them, smashing them as it went. Both girls backed against the wall. Hermione sank to the floor. Isra's mind was racing, but the smell was giving her a headache and she couldn't think of a spell she could use.

"Confuse it!" Harry cried. He grabbed a tap from the heap of rubble and threw it against the wall. The troll blinked and turned, spotting Harry.

"Hey, pea brain!" Ron yelled, throwing a metal pipe at the troll. The troll didn't notice the pipe, but it heard the insult and turned towards Ron, trying to figure out what it meant.

"Run!" Harry yelled. He and Isra each grabbed one of Hermione's arms, trying to drag her towards the door, but Hermione was frozen.

The troll began advancing towards Ron, who had no way to escape. Harry ran towards the troll and jumped on it from behind. His wand, which had been in his hand, went straight up the troll's nose.

Howling with rage, the troll twisted around, thrashing wildly with Harry hanging on as tightly as he could. Hermione screamed. Ron whipped out his wand and cried, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The club flew out of the troll's hand, rising into the air, and dropped right onto the troll's head. The troll swayed and fell on its face. Harry got off the troll and onto his feet. He was shaking. Ron was staring at the troll, shocked at what had just happened.

"Is it dead?" Hermione whispered.

"I think it's unconscious," Harry replied. He turned the troll's head with great difficulty and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. "Ew…troll bogies." He wiped it on the troll's pants.

Professor McGonagall burst into the room, followed by Snape. Snape checked on the troll, while McGonagall glared at Harry, Ron, and Isra. "What on earth were you thinking?" she asked, furious. "You could've been killed. What are you doing here?"

"Please, Professor, they were looking for me," Hermione said quietly.

"Miss Granger!" Professor McGonagall gasped.

Hermione came forward. "I went looking for the troll because…because I thought I could deal with it. I've read all about them and…"

Ron dropped his wand. Harry and Isra exchanged glances. Hermione Granger was telling a lie to a teacher. It was as if the troll had politely shaken their hands instead of trying to kill them.

"They didn't have time to get help," Hermione continued. "It was about to finish me off."

Professor McGonagall blinked. "Miss Granger, you silly girl, how could you think of taking on a mountain troll by yourself? Five points from Gryffindor. I'm very disappointed. You'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Hanging her head, Hermione left the room.

McGonagall turned to the other three. "I still say you were lucky you weren't killed. You each win five points for Gryffindor. You may go."

They ran out of the bathroom. "She could've given us more than fifteen points," Ron grumbled.

"Ten," Harry corrected. He turned to Isra. "So, what happened?"

Isra shrugged. "We were just talking and that thing burst in on us."

The bots looked sheepish. "Well, we _did_ kind of lock it in," Harry admitted.

Isra gave them a sharp look. "Well anyways, how did you know there was a troll in the castle?"

"Professor Quirrell told us," Ron replied.

"And then he passed out," Harry added. They all laughed.

"Pig snout," Ron said and they climbed through the portrait hole.

The common room was packed with people, eating the food that had been brought up from the Great Hall.

Hermione was standing off to the side, waiting for them. There was an awkward pause. Then they all said, "Thanks" and went to get food.

The four of them sat together at a table, not saying much, just thinking about everything that had happened. Then Ron gave a start. "Hey Isra, didn't you have a prank planned for tonight?"

Isra had completely forgotten about it. "Oh yeah. I did."

"What was it?" Harry asked.

Down in the Great Hall, Professor Quirrell was just starting to wake up. There was a bang and he jumped to his feet. Looking up, he saw a giant piñata shaped like a lion break open. Thousands of candies fell out. But as they neared the table, they sprouted wings and fangs and flew away towards the High Table. There, they lined up and spelled out, "Trick or Treat."

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Isra shrugged. "Oh well," she said. "Maybe next year."

* * *

Please review! You can't expect me to believe that none of you have opinions about this story.


	9. Chapter 8

Scarlet and gold covered practically every inch of the Gryffindor common room. Fred and George were serving out goblets of a strange drink that was spicy and burned your throat when you drank it. Someone had conjured up sparks to form a little light show of a Gryffindor lion squashing a Slytherin snake.

Hermione gently nudged Isra. "It's 7:45."

With a sigh, Isra got up and climbed out of the portrait hole. From the sound of it, the party was still going strong and would be for a few hours. Maybe she'd get back just in time to catch the end of it.

It was all Harry's fault that she had detention with Snape while the rest of the Gryffindors were celebrating their victory over Slytherin.

Last night, Harry had discovered that Snape had gotten bitten by the three-headed dog and his leg was all bloody and mangled. Harry believed that Snape had been trying to steal whatever the dog was guarding. Ron agreed with Harry, but Hermione didn't believe that Snape would do something like that. Isra was on Hermione's side. For all his sneering, his harsh comments, and his condescending attitude, he didn't seem like the type to steal something. First of all, he didn't seem selfish enough to steal something for himself. Second, if someone else wanted the thing the dog was guarding stolen, Snape seemed like a much too obvious choice. He radiated bad guy vibes. And third, though this one was a bit mean, he was a Slytherin. Hardly brave enough to try getting past the three-headed dog.

The day after, the day of the Quidditch match, Harry had basically been a nervous wreck. Malfoy had told him to ask someone to hold a mattress under him, which only made Harry feel worse. As Harry pictured himself tumbling through the air, Isra had lost her temper.

_STOP IT!_ she had hollered, making him wince. _If you're letting Malfoy get to you, you're even more pathetic than he is. McGonagall and Wood wouldn't have put you on the team if they'd thought you'd fall of that easily, right? And besides, it's in your blood. McGonagall says your father was amazing at Quidditch too._

Harry had felt a lot better after that.

Everyone had been in the stands by 11:00, waiting for the Quidditch match to begin. Lee Jordan, a third year Gryffindor and a good friend of the Weasley twins, had been the commentator and had found it hard not to be biased. Gryffindor had scored the first two goals of the game, causing all the red and gold fans to go crazy.

When the Snitch had been sighted, Harry and the Slytherin Seeker both went after it. Harry was faster and so it was evident that he would reach it first. But just before Harry could get it, Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin team, had blocked him and nearly knocked Harry off his broom.

"That jerk," Isra had muttered. She flicked her wand and conjured up sparks in the shape of a giant arrow with the word "CHEATER" written inside it, pointing at Flint. He had tried to get away from it, but it had followed him wherever he went. The Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws had found this quite amusing.

Moments after that, it had happened. Harry's broom had started bucking and rolling as if trying to throw him off, leaving him hanging by one hand.

Hermione had then spotted Snape muttering under his breath, his eyes fixed on Harry. "He's jinxing the broom!" she had gasped and promptly dashed off. She had run over to Snape and set his robes on fire. He glanced down, breaking the eye contact, and Harry had been able to get back onto his broom.

But Isra had noticed something odd. The broom had stopped its shaking moments _before_ Snape had noticed he was on fire. She had barely listened to Ron and Hermione as they explained to Harry what had happened, and she had stayed out of their argument with Hagrid that Snape was trying to steal what the dog was guarding. She had still been lost in thought as they had left Hagrid's hut and headed back to the castle.

"Miss Black." Snape's cold voice had stopped them all in their tracks and broken Isra out of her thoughts. "Detention for using magic outside of the classroom."

"_What?_" Isra had gasped.

"Are you expecting me to believe that the little "cheater" trick _wasn't_ you?" Snape had asked.

"You've got no proof," Isra had said angrily. That was a stupid thing to say.

"Care to repeat that?" Snape had sneered. Isra hadn't answered, swallowing nervously instead. "Good. Potions classroom at eight tonight and be glad you're getting off so lightly." He had limped back to the castle ahead of them.

As a result, Isra decided that getting landed in detention was all Harry's fault.

If he hadn't seen Snape's bloody leg, Snape wouldn't have been in a bad mood and she wouldn't have gotten a detention. That made sense.

Right?

She headed down towards the dungeons. As she approached Snape's classroom, she heard a voice coming from a nearby room. It sounded like it was sobbing. "I know…I failed…"

Then another voice sounded out, one that chilled her to the bone. "Failure is not an option…"

"I'm sorry…" the first voice sobbed.

"You know the consequences," the second voice snarled.

The first voice just cried even harder. "No," wailed the first voice. "No, please…"

Isra reached for the doorknob. She had to help whoever was in there! Just then, someone grabbed her shoulder and she yelped. "Are we lost, Miss Black?"

It was Snape.

"N-no sir," she stammered.

"Then what are we doing out here?" he demanded.

"Um…?" she replied.

"Follow me," he ordered, heading for his classroom. Isra followed, casting one last glance at the door.

Snape pointed towards the shelves in the back of the room. "Those are full of potions and potions ingredients. I need you to help me take an inventory of what I have and then label the containers." He paused. "Consider it a quiz of sorts, to test your knowledge of potions."

Isra stared. That didn't sound bad at all! In fact, it sounded kind of fun.

She reached for the first jar and eagerly opened it. "It looks like…bezoars?" Snape nodded, making a checkmark on his list. Isra wrote "Bezoars" on another piece of parchment and used a Sticking Charm to attach it to the jar.

The next vial she grabbed had a thick mud-like potion. Isra pursed her lips in concentration. "Polyjuice Potion?" she finally guessed. Snape nodded again and a delighted smile crossed Isra's face. The sight made Snape smile, but his smile was almost sad. Isra couldn't figure out why.

Suddenly, there was a bang, and several Slytherins came running in. Smoke seemed to be coming from their ears. "What is the problem?" Snape asked mildly.

"There's a…creature in the dorms!" spluttered one. Isra choked back a laugh when she realized it was Pansy Parkinson. Her hair was smoking and her face was streaked with soot.

"It's shooting fire out its…well, it's shooting fire from _something!_" gasped another girl.

Snape sighed. "Please wait here, Miss Black. It seems we are having a slight problem in the dormitories." Then he paused, as if realizing who he was talking to. Leaving the prankster that might one day be outpranking the Weasley twins in the Potions classroom without supervision didn't seem like such a good idea. "Actually, Miss Black, please don't move from that spot." With that, he left the room, the still-smoldering girls trailing after him.

"Psst! Isra!" a familiar voice called from behind her. She turned just in time to see a bookcase swivel around…and to see the Weasley twins step out from a secret passage.

"What does that lead to?" she asked excitedly.

"The room next to the Transfiguration classroom," Fred told her. "Come on. That distraction was to get you out of here."

"Snuck a fire crab into the Slytherin girls' dormitory," George added. "Courtesy of that passage you found."

Isra grinned. "Really? Bloody awesome! But I can't leave."

"Yeah, we heard Snape tell you not to leave from that spot," George said.

"You aren't actually going to _listen_ to him, are you?" Fred gasped in horror.

"Of course not," Isra replied. She nodded towards Snape's desk. "But how could I ever pass up the opportunity to snoop around a bit?"

"Excellent," grinned George. "Can we stay?"

Isra shook her head. "Unless you can explain what you're doing here once Snape comes back. I don't think you'll be able to get away fast enough."

"Tell us all about it?" asked George.

"That's a given," Isra replied.

"See you then!" Fred called as the bookcase turned around again, and they disappeared from sight.

Isra dashed over to Snape's desk. She knew that she probably only had a few minutes for this. Maybe enough time to change some grades. She sat down at his desk and pulled at the top drawer. It was locked. "A_lohomora!_" The drawer sprang open.

She found his grade book right on top and pulled it out eagerly. She flipped to her class and sighed, shaking her head when she saw Neville's miserable grades. She pulled out her wand and tapped the page, making his grades a few points higher. She was just about to make the Slytherins flunk, when something shiny caught her eye.

She reached into the drawer and pulled out a large golden locket. She turned it over in her hands, frowning. Obviously, it was important to Snape. Maybe he had a girlfriend? She turned that thought over in her head for a few moments, before bursting into giggles. _Yeah, right_.

But her curiosity was piqued. She carefully pried the locket open. It had a clasp, like a normal Muggle locket, which surprised her, considering the general Slytherin attitude towards Muggles. The picture staring back at her was…herself. Snape kept a mirror inside a locket? There was only one conclusion she could come up with.

Snape was gay.

Footsteps headed towards the classroom and Isra knew that Snape had finished dealing with the Fire Crab. She shoved everything into the drawer and slammed it shut, then scrambled to get to the spot where Snape had told her to stand. She tripped and landed flat on her face as Snape came in.

"Miss Black?" his voice came from somewhere above her. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"I fell," Isra replied.

"Didn't I tell you not to move?" he asked.

"Yes sir."

"Then why did you move?"

"I didn't sir," she lied.

There was a pause. "You fell over standing in place."

"Yes sir," Isra replied, sneaking a peek at him. To her surprise, Snape looked almost…amused.

"Very well, Miss Black," he said. "You have completed your detention. And considering your extensive knowledge of Potions, five points to Gryffindor. You may go."

Isra was floored. Was he being _nice_? She'd never see him act nice towards anyone but a Slytherin and even then, nice was…well, not _that_ nice. She almost felt bad about snooping around his stuff.

Almost.

Fred and George greeted her the moment she climbed in through the portrait hole. Both were grinning from ear to ear. "What did you find out?" Fred asked.

"Anything exciting?" George asked.

Isra hesitated. The locket with the mirror… "No," she said, putting on her most convincing sad face. "He came back before I had time to poke through his stuff." The twins looked disappointed, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything about it.

That night, as Isra went to bed, a new dream haunted her. This one was about the hushed conversation that she had overheard through the door in the dungeons.


End file.
